If you read the headline on this column, then you probably think I'm going somewhere. Likely, on some type of aircraft.

Well, the headline is only half right. I'm going on vacation (fresh off of turning a year older), and while I'll still be around doing light work during that time, I'll be getting some much-needed down time. In fact, next Friday in this spot, Alan Stanley Blair will fill in again forcing you to write me an e-mail asking me why I bother coming back since Alan is far more entertaining.

Well, I have a response for that ... however, be glad that this is a family Web site.

But no, I ain't going on a plane. I'm actually just driving to the other side of Orlando, which is about a 90-minute drive. I don't get to see the better half as often as I like, and we're nearing our two-year anniversary, so this will give us a week together to enjoy each other's company and probably fight constantly, heh.

Anyway, whenever I go on vacation, the real job keeps me real busy. That, on top of a belated birthday dinner and party last night, I haven't had time to do much of anything. In fact, this column is going up 12 hours late, so that should say something to you.

So what do you say we answer a bunch of e-mail this week? SciFriday receives about 50 pieces of e-mail or so on average every week, and as you've seen in past columns, we're lucky to see two or maybe even three letters make it in. Just like how Rush Limbaugh has open line days when he has nothing to talk about, we're going to have open e-mail day. Makes you wish you had written, eh?

Even more fun, I am not screening my e-mail like I normally do. I have an inbox right now of about 70 e-mails, and I'm going to randomly select e-mail. This should be fun.

You definitely have a point. If a character is going to die in 'Stargate: Atlantis' and then presto, back to life, why bother doing it in the first place? With the Internet, a good majority of people already know who it is and when it'll happen, but the dramatic effect will mean nothing if everyone knows the person will be back. They might as well take out the dying and ascension ... I mean, [do] the return episodes and just go from there.
-- Kaarlo Moran

Kaarlo, I'm with you. I am so tired of the soap opera/sci-fi literary device of killing off a character just to have them come back to life. It makes me mad, because it never happens in real life. I've been waiting for my great-grandmother to return from ascension for quite some time, and it's pissing me off that she doesn't even think of me.

First of all, let me praise the site as it is one of the best sites on the Web for sci-fi news, a site I certainly look at every day [and] would love to see more articles on sci-fi books. Having read your 'Doctor Who' article, I have to disagree with you about ads in TV programs. The BBC is publicly funded and has no sponsors t please and no annoying symbols that we see so often on American TV.

The BBC has a long history of making programs that wouldn't have been made or survive on commercial television, and for that I am grateful. Just imagine watching some of your American channels without the breaks every 10 minutes. How great would that be?
-- Gareth Price

By the way, I usually try to link to stories that everyone is referring to, but I'm picking these randomly and haven't had time to research before I respond. I believe Gareth is talking about a "throwaway" line I had in a story or maybe even SciFriday where I talked about how much money BBC would make if they had commercials.

Gareth, I certainly did not intend to promote BBC converting to a commercial format. The fact that it is commercial free (and forces you to pay extra tax for the "luxury" of having a color television) is awesome, and I meant only to point out how great having 8 million viewers for a single program is, because it would equal a lot of dollars if it were commercial.

I'm with you 100 percent, buddy!

A bit of additional information on your story about supposed falling ratings for "Doctor Who' with the story 'Daleks in Manhattan.'

It was probably the weather that was mainly responsible, but also the BBC has been messing about with the start time in a stupid and cynical attempt into increasing ratings for the show that follows afterward, 'Any Dream Will Do.' 'Doctor Who' was on at 6:35 p.m. rather than the normal 7 p.m. The raw data from BARB shows that there was a spike of viewers at 7 p.m.

Also, it looks like the viewers didn't go missing anyway, as the repeat the next day on BBC Three was a record breaker, with 1.1 million watching, which means that in all, around 7.3 million have watched "Daleks in Manhattan," and that figure will increase once the consolidated ratings figures incorporating VCR and PVR recordings are released.
-- Eric York

I don't know what the people at BBC were smoking to move a show 25 minutes earlier. I would be pissed if I came home to watch a show like "Heroes," only to find NBC started it at 8:35 rather than 9. BBC needs to get their act together.

Most of my friends that watched the Sci-Friday on the SciFi Channel went elsewhere on Fridays. I thought they waited too long to start the new season. Most of the info about these episodes is online, screen caps and transcripts, etc. Spoilers big time.

I'm sure there is a cause and effect to these series. Time will tell. Nothing goes on forever.
-- John Charmley

John, I am not sure if the time between season halves is that big of a problem. I think what's happening is that people have moved on. That happens sometimes when a series is winding down. As popular as "The West Wing" was on NBC, for instance, even when people knew the series was winding down, there was very little boost.

I also think it's a huge mistake (sorry, European readers) to release shows ahead of time in other countries, unless those countries are bringing in far more revenue than what they are getting in the United States and Canada. I've watched the entire second half of "Stargate: Atlantis'" third season because I have friends in England who were sending me the episodes. Have I made time to watch it on Friday nights since then? No.

"Stargate SG-1" has long run its course, and I think that series should've ended two seasons ago. But that's just me.

It's easy to understand why 'Painkiller Jane's' ratings dipped. It's a really lousy show. The original SciFi movie with Emmanuelle Vaugier in the lead role was very well written and acted. Such is not the case with this incarnation of 'Painkiller.' If they ever created an Oscar or an Emmy category for best performance by an inanimate object, Kristianna Loken would win such an award hands down. I also found the supporting cast to be almost as impressive as she was.

"Stargate SG-1' had nine really good seasons. [Season] 10 has that 'been there, done that' feel to it and that may well be the reason that viewers are turning away from it. The show is ending in any case.

"Stargate: Atlantis,' let's see, we have the Wraith, the Genii, and the real replicators. What do these villains have in common? Simple. I don't give a damn about any of them.
-- Steven Poisson

I have a hard time believing that the writers who have given us such rich stories, such amazing characters over the years, suck this horrible at creating bad guys. I mean, it's like they have the Klingons and the Romulans, and every other bad guy after that are nothing more than redresses of the Klingons and the Romulans.

I am tired of the Replicators. I am tired of the Ori, who are nothing more than Gou'ald clones. The Genii simply annoy the hell out of me. But I do like the Wraith, and I'm sad we don't see more of them.

I miss the Gou'ald and how powerful they were. Those were some tremendous bad guys.

Unfortunately, the Stargate series are geared toward a specific audience, and as long as they audience sticks around, they will continue putting out the kind of episodes and stories they do. Maybe if they kicked it up a level, it might experience a surge of viewers -- if it's not too late already.

SyBits

By the way, the recent "Doctor Who" epsiode "Daleks in Manhattan" was absolutely horrible. It's the first "Doctor Who" episode I haven't liked. I am sick of the Daleks. Bring me the master.

At the same time, I have been catching up on the CBS series "Jericho," and it's definitely something to watch. In fact, when I talked to my mom a couple days ago, she told me that she watches "Jericho." Now mind you, the only show that my mom and I have ever watched together was "The Young and the Restless," so outside of "The 4400," this is a major step for my mom -- and she was watching it before me!

I'm still trying to get caught up on the series in time to watch the season finale live, but if you haven't watched "Jericho" yet, get caught up! Trust me, it's a must-see, and I hope our previous rumor that CBS is picking it up for a second season is true.

If you have a question about this column or anything going on in the world of SyFy, drop me an e-mail at mhinman@airlockalpha.com.

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Michael Hinman, named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com